Necessary
by AonoRunic
Summary: When his wife dies, Thor is forced to adjust to the life of a single parent. The only thing keeping his world from falling apart is having to take care of his daughter. Meanwhile, Loki is busy taking down her old employer so that she can make her way back to her family.


This was supposed to be a simple fic for marty-mc dealing with Thor as a single parent. Somehow it developed a subplot of Loki as a secret agent. Don't ask, I really don't know what happened.

Also, Thor was originally a soccer coach, but I was watching a hockey game, and that seemed to fit so much better, so it got changed.

/

_The promise given was a necessity of the past: the word broken is a necessity of the present._  
_Niccolo Machiavelli_

Loki peered over the side of the cliff, staring into the dark ravine. The noise of metal crunching against stone had stopped a few moments ago, and sure enough, a sudden explosion of fire and light shot forth from the wreckage of what was once Loki's rental car.

Thin arms, not exactly comforting, wrapped around her, pulling her into a tight embrace. Loki didn't look away from the explosion, but her hand did reach up to rest against the other's arm. "It's been awhile since I've had to fake my own death."

"I know, darling," Amora answered, kissing the skin just above Loki's ear. "You were fond of this one, weren't you?"

She was, but the last thing Loki was going to do was let Amora know just how attached she had been to this identity. Amora may have escaped service, but her mind still worked with an agent's logic. She wouldn't understand the security and love Loki felt in having a home and husband.

Another car pulled up and Lorelei stepped out, dressed as if she were about to attend a photo shoot. "Let's get going, before S.H.I.E.L.D. arrives this time preferably."

Loki moved to exit Amora's embrace, but she suddenly held on tighter, taking Loki off guard for a moment. That moment was more than enough for Amora. Loki felt the needle slipping into her neck even as she began to struggle. Amora continued to hold her close, petting her hair while she waited for the drugs to take effect. "Shh, dear. We're only going to take you back to Thanos. He's missed you so much."

Lorelei grabbed Loki's hands and forced them behind her back, binding them with plastic ties. "Besides, you always did look lovely in chains."

Paralyzed and bound, Loki cursed herself for becoming soft as she was thrown into the trunk of Lorelei's car. Amora and Lorelei worked quickly to bind Loki's legs and gag her mouth as well, before shutting the trunk and leaving her in darkness. Her only chance now would be if she could reach her distress signal before they reached Thanos' compound, but she was growing sleepy, and it was becoming hard to keep her eyes open.

_So very tired._

/

Thor pressed the palms of his hands against his eyes in a futile attempt to hold back tears. When he had opened the door to the man who introduced himself as Coulson, he had known something was wrong. Everything about the man screamed government. Thor had no idea what he could have done to warrant the interest of any government organization, but what came out the man's mouth was so much worse than the scenarios that ran through Thor's head.

"She can't be dead," Thor finally said. He took a deep breath, but his voice still wavered when he added, "Loki isn't dead."

"Mr. Odinson," Coulson said calmly, pity lining his words, "I am sorry, but it's true. Her car was forced off the road."

"Let me see her!" Thor demanded, switching to anger so fast there was a brief flash of fear in Coulson's eyes before he covered it up. "I want to see my wife!"

"I'm sorry, but the fuel tank exploded. Her body was severely burnt. I'm sorry…" Coulson said again and hesitated. Thor had to fight not to punch something. Hearing those two words felt like someone taking a grater to his skin. "But," Coulson finally continued, "there are no disenabled features left. Even her teeth suffered damage. There were a few…pieces we were able to extract from the wreck and send to the morgue, but that's all."

So, in blunt terms, there was no body. His wife was gone, and all he had left were scraps. "Get out," Thor snapped. He couldn't look at Coulson for another second or else he would do something really stupid. "Get out!"

Coulson nodded, but paused to take something out of his pocket. "This is the number of the morgue where your wife's body was taken. If there is anything we can do for you, Mr. Odinson, please contact us." Coulson placed the card down on the coffee table and walked out into the hall.

Thor didn't move, not when he heard the door shut, nor when he heard the car drive away. His whole world had just crashed around him and he had no idea what to do. For seven years he had been happily married to Loki. She had shared everything with him. They had a five year old daughter together, for god's sakes.

Oh, oh god, Livvy. He was going to have to tell his daughter that her mother wouldn't be coming home.

Thor sat down heavily on their too plush couch, unable to hold himself up any longer. The noise of his sobs echoed through their small house, but he couldn't bring himself to care.

/

Loki woke up groggy, her head pounding and movements sluggish. The drug was wearing off quicker than Lorelei or Amora had planned for, and really that was their own fault for not suspecting that Loki had built up certain resistances. She was still in the dark of the trunk, and judging by the noise, they were still driving.

She had enough room to kick out at the back lights, but any authorities that tried to stop Amora and Lorelei would only end up dead, and Loki would, at best, still be tied up in the trunk, at worst they'd decide it wasn't worth it to keep her alive and put a bullet in her head, so that action was useless. Loki's best path to rescue was her engagement ring. It took her a few minutes of flexing her fingers before she had enough feeling back in order to work her hands into a position where she could grip the ring's setting and twist. It was rather anticlimactic when noting happened, but the ring had been outfitted by S.H.I.E.L.D. the moment Thor had given it to her. Twisting the setting would activate the GPS tracker they'd put in. The moment her GPS coordinates came online, all agents in the area would be alerted to her distress. Hopefully there were ones competent enough close by to take on Amora and Lorelei. Until then, all Loki could do was work on trying to escape the plastic ties binding her arms and legs together. Unfortunately, it seemed Amora and Lorelei were smart enough not to leave behind any instruments Loki could use to cut the ties.

When the car came to a stop and the sound of the engine died, Loki's heart leapt into her throat. Muffled feminine voices reached her as Amora and Lorelei left the car before fading away. Loki waited a few moments, but nothing happened. If they were at Thanos' compound, they would have dragged her out of the trunk immediately. They never were ones to wait when rewards were imminent.

Loki was busy cursing the both of them, at the moment mostly for tying her hands behind her, when a loud shout interrupted her thoughts. Something hit the car, causing it to shake. It was quickly followed by more sounds of more fighting. An arrow suddenly came through the hood of the car. Loki shouted angrily into the gag and kicked against the hood of the trunk. There was a flood of relief at seeing that stupid arrow, but if Clint shot her, Loki was going to stab him in the eye.

It was pure agony waiting for the fight to end, but the brief moment of silence that followed before Loki knew the outcome was even worse. The lock on the trunk click and Loki braced herself, but quickly relaxed when Natasha's face filled her vision. Loki held still as Natasha pulled her knife out, quickly cutting Loki's restraints.

"Behold!" Clint called as Natasha helped Loki out of the trunk, leaning her against the back of the car so Loki could take a moment to regain her balance. "Your saviors, that's us by the way, have defeated the evil witches, and saved the mouthy princess!" The glare Loki gave him did nothing to wipe away the cocky grin plastered on Clint's face.

"Clint!" Steve called, all business, from where he was shoving Amora into a S.H.I.E.L.D. truck. "A little help here." It turned out that Amora and Lorelei had stopped at a diner, more likely to switch cars than eat. Unfortunately for them, their natural tendency to argue had slowed them down long enough for the agents to catch up to them.

"You've got other agents to help you!" Clint called back, even as he started for the truck. The other two agents, unfamiliar to Loki, did not seem all that pleased at even the joking prospect of having to deal with Lorelei by themselves.

"What happened?" Natasha asked her.

"Thanos," Loki answered, spitting out her former employer's name. "One of his agents made me. I was able to take him out, but I don't know if he reported back before hand."

"So you faked your own death."

"Ah, so you saw the car wreck then."

"We were there when Coulson alerted us that your distress signal had been activated."

Loki took a deep breath, letting her eyes fall closed for a moment. If Coulson had seen it, that meant he'd be off to tell Thor. She knew it would have to happen the moment Thanos' agent saw her, but it still hurt. There had been so many times she had told herself she never should have let Thor draw her in, but she had ended up loving him so much. She hated him for it, but no matter how she tried, Loki couldn't stay away. But now, she'd have to leave both Thor and Livvy to keep them safe. "I had to do it."

Natasha nodded. She knew; she'd had to do the same thing before after all. "Thanos won't think you're dead."

"No, but if I'm not near them, it will be hard for Thanos to find them. Even if he does, he will think they no longer matter to me." Loki's throat tightened just saying it. Damn Thor for making her think a normal life was possible.

"Right."

"Nat! Princess!" Clint called. "Let's go!"

"Come on." Natasha helped Loki up, wary of the effects of the drug still in Loki's system. "We'll get you back to HQ, and figure out our next move then."

Loki already knew her next move. She was going to eliminate Thanos and the threat he posed to her family.

/

_One day without Loki._ "Daddy!"

Usually when Thor saw his daughter, his heart leapt in happiness. He had been overwhelmed when he realized how much he loved Loki, and it had happened all over again when Livvy was born. The only reason he hadn't let himself fall apart completely was because of her.

Odin quickly gathered all the papers off the kitchen table, and stored them away from Livvy's sight. She had only just started reading, not that she would have been able to understand what she could read anyways, but it still felt wrong to let her see all the paperwork involved for Loki's funeral. Thor had arranged for his mother to keep Livvy an extra night so that he could get the process started before he'd have to face the worst of all this. His father had shown up this morning to help Thor get through it all, for which Thor was extremely grateful. He was finding it hard not to keep slipping into a daze where he didn't have to think about anything.

Livvy ran to him, jumping into his arms. Thor caught her without even thinking about it, and held his daughter close. "Daddy!" she shouted again, laughing as she hugged him, nearly spilling the milkshake Frigga had bought for her on the way home down Thor's back. "Daddy! Hockey!"

Thor frowned at her. "Did you watch the game last night?" he asked. Thor was a sports writer, so Livvy occasionally liked to watch the games Thor had to cover, even if she didn't watch them with him. It made her feel like she could be helpful to Thor when he worked.

"Yes," Frigga answered, watching as her granddaughter laughed and clapped her hands. "And she decided she wants to be a professional hockey player when she grows up."

"Yep!" Livvy shouted. "Can I play hockey, Daddy?"

"Of course you can, baby," Thor answered, hugging her back.

Children were interesting creatures. They could sense a mood more easily than most adults. As soon as Thor hugged Livvy, her laughter died down. She hugged Thor back desperately. "Daddy? What's wrong?"

Thor's breath hitched. He wasn't ready to do this; he'd never be ready to do this.

"Thor," Frigga said softly. Her hand landed on his arm, gentle and almost comforting. "Do you want us to stay?"

Thor took a deep breath and shook his head. "No. I…If Dad could come over again in the morning..?"

"Of course," Odin answered. "We'll finish it all up tomorrow."

"I'll come to look after Livvy. We'll spend the day together again, sweetheart. Won't that be fun?" There wasn't even a discussion about Livvy going to school tomorrow.

Livvy nodded hesitantly, clinging onto Thor. She was confused and upset. Thor could tell she was only seconds away from crying. "Thanks, Mom," he murmured. It made it easier knowing they'd be back in the morning.

"Daddy?" Livvy asked after the sound of the door shutting behind Frigga and Odin had faded. "What's wrong?"

Thor sat down on the couch, Livvy refusing to let go of him as she clung to his shirt. He was scaring her, and it felt horrible, but he didn't know what else to do. He didn't know how to make any of this better. "I have some bad news, Livvy. Mommy…." Thor had to pause for another breath, working the lump from his throat. "Mommy isn't coming home, Livvy."

"Of course she is," Livvy said as if Thor was stupid, a tone she'd picked up from Loki. It only made things harder. "Mommy leaves for a few days, but she always comes back." Livvy smiled up at Thor, framing his face with her hand and the Styrofoam cup, her milkshake pressed up against Thor's cheek. "I miss her too, but she'll be back."

It should have been impossible for Thor to hurt anymore. It should have been, but it wasn't. "No, Livvy." He could do this without crying, he could. He had to be strong for Livvy. "There was an accident. You know what an accident is, right?"

Livvy nodded, going right back to upset.

"Mommy was in an accident," Thor repeated. "She isn't coming back, Livvy."

"Why?" Livvy demanded.

"Because she can't. If she could she would, but…but she can't."

"Why?" Livvy shouted. She pushed against Thor until he let her go, and hopped down onto the floor. The milkshake tipped over, spilling out across the carpet. Why!"

"Livvy, she-"

"Don't say can't!" Livvy screamed. She ran to her room and slammed the door.

Thor forced himself to stand and followed, sinking to the floor in the hallway across from her door. He sat there, listening to Livvy cry herself out. It took a few hours, but eventually she opened the door again, crawling into Thor's lap, holding onto him as she cried all over again.

/

_Three months without Thor._ "Hey, I've got something for you."

Loki looked up from the hologram spread of data laid out before her, glaring at Tony. "I'm busy," she snapped.

"Yeah, going over the same data for the thousandth time." Tony shoved the datapad in front of her face. "Come on, Clint and Steve went to a hockey game to get this for you. Don't let their suffering be in vain."

Still glaring, Loki turned the datapad on. Immediately a video came up, parents cheering on their kids as they skated around an ice rink. Loki picked out Thor immediately. His large blond head was hard to miss. His eyes looked strained, but he was cheering with the rest of the audience.

It took Loki a moment to find her what with heavy mask over her face, but eventually she realized one of the goalies was Livvy. All the kids were unsteady on their skates, but Livvy was bouncing around happily before the net, blocking the puck whenever it came near her.

With seconds left on the clock, and Loki feeling way more anticipation than she should have for a little league game, one of the opposing players shot the puck toward Livvy. She blocked it easily just as the clock ran out.

Livvy took off her mask and skated toward Thor, the brightest smile on her face. She was somewhat shaky, but much better than the other children (she really was, it wasn't just Loki's biased opinion).

The video ended, much too soon, leaving Loki with a mess of emotions she thought she had dealt with months ago. "I'm going to eliminate Thanos and his entire network. I'm going to wipe them off the face of the earth, and then I am going back to my family."

"Of course," Tony agreed swiftly. Neither of them believed for a second that Loki would actually be going back to her family. That just wasn't how the world worked.

"I've got another present for you." Tony flicked at his own datapad, sending the file flying to Loki's. "Turns out your replacement, Gamora, has turned on Thanos as well, and she's brought a whole slue of new info with her."

"Excellent," Loki replied, embracing the sudden wave of viciousness she felt flood through her. "Let's get to work."


End file.
